The Mercy of Angels
by BrokePerception
Summary: How do you explain to someone you've lived a lifetime together in a span of years of which they've got no recollection? She knew his name, but she didn't remember their love. She recognized his features in the dark alley as she traced the tattoo on his neck, but she didn't remember having traced his entire being and soul with the same fingertips. (Set after the series finale)


She was as beautiful as ever, Jace thought, and his mouth felt dry as a desert as the oxygen caught in his throat in the moment. He had so much to say but so little as well. There were more things he wanted to do than he wanted to say. There was nothing he could do or say.

How do you explain to someone you've lived a lifetime together in a span of years of which they've got no recollection? She knew his name, but she didn't remember their love. She recognized his features in the dark alley as she traced the tattoo on his neck, but she didn't remember having traced his entire being and soul with the same fingertips.

Jace's heart hammered against his ribcage, his insides boiling like a corrosive concoction as he had to summon all of his willpower to stop himself from kissing her the way he had that last unfortunate day at the Institute –− the day that he had lost her. When she had confessed the very depth of her love for him, he had been left awestruck and robbed from words, the realization hitting him that he never needed or wanted another woman again, for she was all he had ever wanted, all that he could have wished for and more than he could have hoped for and thought he deserved.

He kept his eyes on her as she pushed the fabric aside and traced all of the rune she could reach. She kept repeating the pattern as she looked up at him, eyes widening, her fingertips seemingly moving on their own accord now. "You- You're a Shadowhunter, aren't you?" she emitted. "We've met before. You know who I am."

A multitude of emotions overwhelmed Jace as he recognized the panic in her deep hazel eyes and understood the meaning of her words all at the same time. She remembered. He suppressed the insane urge to laugh to speak to her as calmly as possible. "Yes. I know who you are, Clary," he whispered.

The moment between them seemed powerful and fragile at the same time. He was very well aware of the turmoil she must be experiencing then, driven to apprehend what she did remember, thoroughly disoriented by the gaps she couldn't fill in. He knew that he could fill them in for her instead, but he didn't know how to address it all without pushing her past the point of coping. There was an impossibly thin line between helping her and overwhelming her, and he was walking it in that moment.

He knew that whatever he decided to do next could tip her fight or flight response in one way or the other, and it was excruciating and exhilarating all at the same time, as well as frightening. He didn't know to which extent Clary remembered. He didn't know what could effectively trigger something for her and what couldn't or if said trigger could work in their advantage or disadvantage.

He could feel her accelerated heart beat under his thumb as he brought his hand up to hers and took a small step into her personal space, unable to resist his intense desire to be closer to her any longer yet careful not too want too much too soon so as not to startle her.

He didn't look away from her as he traced the rune's pattern onto her wrist with his thumb over and over again, his initial panicked response becoming some sort of lifeline between them as he saw the storminess in her eyes somehow abate and turn into a calm that engulfed him in a seemingly endless sea of memories. He kept repeating the motion.

As he felt Clary's fingertips retrace the pattern onto the skin at his neck at long last, he couldn't help feel like he was on top of the world and nothing else mattered anymore. When she repeated the motion, too, with a familiar and all-encompassing smile, Jace felt his very soul reverberate, warmth washing over the cold and dark state it had been in since her disappearance. He drew her warmth back to him as she uncovered years' worth of memories in his mind.

As they wrote love upon each other's skin, Jace firmly believed in the mercy of the angels.


End file.
